Thursday, November 20, 2014

The Originals, Season Two, Episode Seven: Chasing the Devil's Tail


As children, Elijah and Klaus play in the woods but Elijah loses sight of his younger brother.  It turns out that this is Elijah's vision.  Elijah approaches his younger self, informing him that one day, he will be a monster.  Elijah's younger self kills his older manifestation.  

Klaus sits next to Elijah, who continues dreaming, begging Elijah to let him in to help.  Klaus begins to bleed from his noses and is repulsed by Elijah.  Hayley looks at Elijah's neck, where she discovers a rash.  Klaus however recognizes the rash as something Esther would use to put Michael to sleep when they were children.  Klaus decides to check the bayou to see if the same plant grows there, ordering Hayley to stand watch over Elijah, adding that Esther has already gotten her hands on Hayley once.  Hayley promises to stay put, so Klaus heads out.  Hayley tells a still unconscious Elijah that she won't go after Esther but everything she loves.

Oliver is wrapped in his funeral sheath and Jackson covers the body with alcohol before setting it adrift in bayou.   In the middle of the lake, Oliver's remains burst into flames, as a very sad Jackson watches.

Later, Jackson continues to drink and is joined  by Hayley.  It seems that Jackson is very upset that the wolves broke tradition by failing to show up for Oliver's funeral this morning.  A distraught Jackson pronounces the loyalty gone.  Hayley is momentarily sympathetic to Jackson's loss and then quickly points out that their people need their alpha.  Hayley takes the bottle away from Jackson, before leaving him to his thoughts.

Hayley and Aidan arrive at Marcel's place and Marcel is not pleased to see them, saying that he is not running a den for wayward wolves.  Hayley explains that the plan is to take down Finn today and given how Finn treated the vampires, she assumed Marcel would want in on the bloodbath.  Aidan adds that this won't be easy because Finn is surrounded by wolves and doesn't have a weakness. Marcel is quick to call Cami, Finn's weakness but Hayley points out that Klaus will go ballistic if Cami is drawn into this.  Marcel points out that Klaus isn't here and Cami doesn't like to be told what she can and cannot do.

Cami tells Vincent in session that Klaus has not called and that she is not sure whether or not she wants to be around him anymore at all.  Vincent calls Cami's admission a nice piece of progress.  Cami then asks Vincent if she could get a new advisor, so Vincent questions if their sessions are unproductive. Cami assures Vincent that this is not the case and explains that Vincent is indeed getting to know her, the issue is that she wants to get to know Vincent as well. Vincent is stunned and does not answer, so Cami grabs her things to leave.  Cami doesn't even make it to the door, before Vincent stops her to ask if she enjoys jazz.

Davina is working on a spell when Kol makes his way out of the shower to see her.  Davina is not impressed, telling Kol that she is trying to repair the damage he did to her delinking spell and that the only reason she is still sharing a motel room with him is for his "freaky witch encyclopedia brain." Kol instructs Davina that she needs to sleep because she has been awake for days but Davina points out that it is" hard to rest with a 1000 year old psycho in the next bed." Kol snarks about Davina making him sound like a "creeper." Davina is not impressed with Kol's charming way and Kol admits that Davina seems resistant to his charms.  Kol argues that he cannot share his secrets with Davina, unless they trust each other, adding that if Davina wants to take down Klaus without her friends dying, then she would be a fool not to listen.  Kol suddenly falls to his knees and a series of symbols appear burned into his arm.  Kol explains to Davina that this is Esther's way of calling him home.  

Vincent heads to see Esther (still surprisingly in the body of Lenore) and Esther reports that Kol will return home soon and that Elijah will awake from his slumber believing that the only way to regain his humanity is to join their family.  Esther hands Vincent an item to subdue Cami, saying that she wants Cami brought in without any kind of bodily harm.  Vincent is shocked, as he believed he had more time but Esther makes it clear that once Klaus has been influenced by Ansel, they will need to act quickly.  Vincent tells Esther that he has no need for this item, as he is capable of bringing Cami in without it.

Klaus is walking through the woods and notices that he is being followed. Klaus quickly slams Ansel into a tree, explaining once again that he has no intention of taking Esther up on her offer and adding that his real family needs him.  Ansel however offers to hep Klaus find the orchid he needs to help Elijah, adding that it was he who found the orchid for Esther in the past to put Michael to sleep.  Klaus again says that he doesn't believe Esther brought Ansel back for them to have a father son game of hide and seek, before starting to storm off, only to be told by Ansel that he is heading in the wrong direction.  

Hayley drives Kol, who questions if Hayley ever has any fun with her magic. Kol explains that he was a witch and in fact a child prodigy before he was a vampire.  Kol adds that he loved the power and the rush but lost it all after they were turned, which led him to a dark period.  Hayley snarks about murder and mayhem and Kol explains that he spent a lot of time with witches, learning from them, as well as teaching them, in the hope of getting back what Esther stole from him.  Hayley questions if this is why Kol was brought back as a witch and Kol explains that Esther believed the body he is using would be the best for the task at hand.  Hayley expresses shock that Esther sent Kol to flirt with her and Kol explains that he was sent to follow Hayley, he decided on his own to flirt with her.   

Aidan, Josh, Marcel, and Hayley, look over the blueprints for the bar that Cami has promised to meet Vincent at.  Hayley wants to rush the bar and rip Vincent's head off but Marcel points out that Vincent will simply jump bodies.  Cami walks in carrying a box and agreeing with Marcel, adding that Vincent will have a hard time answering their questions without it.  The box contains dark objects Cami's uncle left for her and  Cami believes that these tools can be used against witches specifically.  Marcel holds up a pair of handcuffs, once used against Voodoo queens to stop them from doing magic.  Aidan points out the obvious - they are not going to just be able to slap the handcuffs on Vincent when he is surrounded by werewolves.  It's Josh who suggests luring Vincent away.  Hayley questions Cami if she is sure about playing bait and Cami simply tells the group to make it look convincing because Vincent is really smart.


Ansel and Klaus make their way through the woods and Klaus explains that he used to believe his real father didn't know he existed, because it was the only explanation for why he was allowed to suffer at Michael's hand.  Ansel reminds Klaus that Esther forbade him from seeing Klaus and that he accepted knowing that one day, Klaus would trigger his curse and need his real father.  Ansel explains that when Klaus's curse was triggered, he fought Michael for him. Klaus calls Ansel's grand declaration a few years to late but Ansel in not discouraged, revealing that he knows Klaus has always felt a void in his life because he watched him from beyond for centuries.  Ansel adds that despite what Klaus has seen or done, Klaus has never found any permanent  peace and only peace  in the most quiet moments.  Klaus tells Ansel to stop and questions if Ansel's eyes were closed while he slaughtered whole villages and if he has made Ansel proud, before storming off again.

Kol is back with Esther and snarks about teaching Esther how to send a text.  Esther reminds Kol that he was sent to get the White oak stake, adding that they need it now that Michael has risen.  Kol feigns being surprised but Esther forces Kol to drop the ruse and explain why he kept this secret from her. Kol explains that it was all about protecting Esther's plan because Davina will never trust him, if Davina believes he is nothing more than a flying monkey.  Kol declares that he has it all handled.  Esther makes it clear that she wants the stake and tells Kol that she doesn't care what he has to do to get it.  Kol picks up a knife and caresses it slowly, as Esther walks off.

Ansel and Klaus arrive at the place where the orchid grows, only to find it surrounded by vervain. Ansel agrees to retrieve the orchid himself but when Klaus asks at what cost, Ansel demands that Klaus use his vampire abilities to prove for himself that he is not aligned with Esther.  Klaus however says that he has no interest in the inner workings of Ansel's brain.  Ansel accuses Klaus of being a coward, pointing out that Elijah is suffering.

Kol is now back with Davina and explains that Esther wants him to steal the white oak stake before Davina can follow through with her plan to kill Klaus.  Kol however has other ideas and asks Davina for her blood and Davina snarks about bleeding for Kol without any explanation.  Kol explains that he needs to get into the tomb they are standing in front of.  The tomb belongs to one of Davina's ancestors.  When they head inside, Davina is surprised with the tools Kol has managed to accumulate over the centuries.  Kol explains that all he has wanted for years is to drive a dagger into Klaus, the way Klaus has done with him so many times over the years.  To that end, Kol has decided to create a special dagger for Klaus, which will incapacitate Klaus, while at the same time, keeping Davina's friends safe.

Cami and Vincent are at a jazz bar and after some brief chatter about their mothers, Cami excuses herself when her phone rings.  Vincent decides to follow Cami and he finds her being attacked by a werewolf.  A werewolf on the roof draws Vincent's attention and by the time he turns around, Cami is gone. 

Ansel and Klaus sit around a campfire and Ansel sharpens his blade.  Ansel tells Klaus that though Michael taught him to kill, he was born to create and that it all lies in embracing his true nature.  Klaus questions if he should accept his mother's offer and then become a florist.  Ansel smiles and informs Klaus that he won't sacrifice anything because as a wolf, Klaus would be king to an entire species and be a better father. That was a bad choice of words and Klaus says that he is no longer a father.  Ansel explains that in animal form, they feel things more strongly and that after Klaus was born, Ansel found himself waking up near Klaus village, after being drawn to him in the middle of the night.  Ansel explains that since he has been back, after each change, he awakes further from New Orleans.  Ansel explains that he knows the call of his own blood and that Klaus's daughter is still alive.  

A furious Vincent screams at Aiden about Cami being bitten by a werewolf, demanding to know who broke rank. Aidan promises to knock some heads together and find out. Vincent is working on a locator spell and he informs Aiden that he will know where Cami is shortly and demands that Aiden meet him there alone, because the wolves cannot be trusted. A smug Aidan hangs up and informs the group that Vincent bought it and that his locator spell will bring him to St. Anne's without bodyguards.  Hayley bites her hand and drops some of her blood into a gold cup for Cami.  Aidan starts to put out the candles and tells Josh that they are going to hell for this but Josh says that they get used to it.  Cami and Hayley talk about their plans and the fact that Marcel is off looking for Davina on a protective dad mission.  

Kol explains that the witches who created the dagger to take out his family, didn't realise that Klaus is part werewolf and therefor not vulnerable to silver. Klaus says that it's impossible to replicate the spell on the dagger but it's not impossible to change the dagger itself.  Kol's plan is to change the dagger from silver to gold, adding that he and Davina have chemistry with each other, proven after what happened with the white oak stake.  The two join hands and Kol tells Davina to follow his lead, as he begins the spell. The two share a moment and Kol turns a bit of string into gold and wraps it around Davina's wrist, as a replacement for the one he broke.

Ansel hands over the orchid for Elijah and Klaus admits that Ansel's offer is intriguing, as he has never had a benevolent parent.  Klaus adds that he would have liked to have been Ansel's son but a different path was chosen for him.  Klaus adds that for the last 1000 years, he has been Michael's son, paranoid, vengeful, and powerful enough to protect his daughter. Ansel offers his help in protecting Klaus, and finally, Klaus admits that he believes his father's intentions are good, unfortunately Klaus is certain that Esther will twist Ansel's intentions and use them to get to Hope.  The two men hold hands briefly and Klaus tells Ansel that he waited too long before he came to rescue him and vows not to make the same mistake with Hope.  Klaus draws Ansel sword and Ansel pleads, telling Klaus that he is not capable of this. Klaus calls this Ansel's first lie, before slashing Ansel across the chest.  Ansel holds out his arms and Klaus grabs him and embraces him.  

Back at the tomb, Davina suggests that they should get going, adding that she lied to Marcel about Kol. Kol points out that a witch needs a coven, if it is just two.  Davina asks when they can work on the dagger and Kol says that they have to work on each other and in the meantime, he will allow Davina to pretend that she's not into him.

Outside St. Anne's, Aidan blames the attack on Cami on a few vengeful wolves, who wanted to get even for Oliver's death and explains that Cami is tied up near the alter.  Aidan suggests that Vincent make a beeline for Cami, while he deals with the wolves.  Vincent smiles and reminds Aidan that his brother was amongst the young wolves Oliver rescued.  When next we see Aidan, he is being tossed unconscious into St. Anne's, before Vincent leisurely enters the church.  Josh rushes to Aidan's side. Vincent lights all of the candles in the church and then knocks Josh out.  Vincent continues to move forward, calling for Cami but he is tackled by Hayley from behind.  Hayley tells Vincent that first she is going to kick his ass and then take her pack back.  Vincent points out that Hayley's pack is following him.  Hayley, not to be undone, snarks about Vincent being a boot licker, before knocking him to the ground.  Vincent throws Hayley away using magic, informing her that hybrids die by losing their head or their hearts and since he has the choice, he is going to take the organ which got her into this mess. Vincent aims a spell at Hayley and she begins to cough up blood and bleed from her chest.  What Vincent doesn't expect however, is to be shot several times with an arrow by Jackson, followed by Cami slipping the handcuffs on him.  Cami tells Finn that he would have done the same thing to her.  Jackson rushes over to see Hayley and apologises for making her wait.

Klaus returns to Elijah's sick bed and he rubs the petal on Elijah's neck, saying they were innocent once.  In his dream, a young Elijah stumbles through the woods.  Elijah continues to tremble and Klaus joins him in his dream, saying that they are the demons waiting in the shadows but things can be different for Hope because they can be the knights in shining armor.  Klaus begs Elijah to come back, saying that he needs him because the monster in him, can only be checked by the monster in Elijah.  Klaus adds together, they can battle their demons and save their family. An older Elijah  walks towards younger Elijah, and young Elijah stabs older Elijah, causing Elijah to wake from his dream.

At the church, Jackson lights a candle and Hayley joins him to say that Vincent has been placed in the back of Josh's car.  Hayley questions how Jackson found them and Jackson explains that he spent a lot of time tracking her when he was a wolf.   Jackson adds that even though Oliver gave him hell for waiting, he was sure that Hayley would come one day and change things for the good.  Hayley says the girl Jackson was waiting for was not a knocked up tom boy with a bad attitude and adds that Jackson got dealt a crappy hand.  Jackson agrees that Hayley is not the girl he waited for - she's better, before taking his leave.

Elijah is getting dressed in his standard suit and joins Klaus, who explains that he spent the day with Ansel.  Klaus says that he was tempted by what he could have been, had he been raised by Ansel.  Klaus hands over Ansel's packet and it contains a drawing of Klaus as a little boy.  Klaus reveals that Ansel knew about Hope and that he wanted to trust him more than anything in the world but he couldn't be sure and wouldn't be able to forgive himself, if something happened to Hope, because of his selfish desire for a father.  Klaus admits to killing Ansel without hesitation but he has tears in his eyes.  Elijah simply says that Klaus killed Ansel for Hope, saying that they must protect whatever innocence remains at any cost.

Esther discovers Ansel's dead body and falls to her knees crying.

Davina is carried to bed by Kol but what he doesn't know, is that Marcel is watching him.

Elijah finishes getting dressed and he has a moment of grief, as he remembers biting his first love.

Davina awakes and looks at her replacement bracelet with a smile, only to discover that Kol is gone and has emptied her purse. 

Cami drinks at the bar and she is joined by Esther, who walks forward saying that she wants to see what her sons like about her so much. 

Elijah now joins Klaus, saying that the worst has passed, adding that the nightmares are far from over. Klaus tells Elijah to gather his strength because when Esther gets his message, she will rain hellfire upon them.  Elijah talks about striking first and they are interrupted by Marcel and Hayley, who explain that moves where made for the brothers while Elijah was sleeping and that there is a gift for the brothers in the ballroom.  Elijah and Klaus make their way to the ballroom to find both Kol and Vincent tied up.  Kol calls this an unpleasant way to begin a family reunion and Klaus snarks that Kol should wait and see how they end it. 



There was a lot of angst and drama this episode with Klaus's day with Ansel.  Though the scenes were well acted, at some point, Klaus really needs to get over his mommy and daddy issues.  I knew from the beginning that this was not going to end well for Ansel, given Klaus's history but to have Elijah, the supposed moral Mikaelson, just simply right of the death of Ansel was pretty awful.  There seems that when it comes to Klaus, the audience is supposed to root for him, while at the same time continually ignoring the atrocities he commits.  Klaus murdered Ansel, and no matter what justifications he offered, murder is murder.  I am tired of this genre believing that they can romanticize this shit.

On to Hayley shall we?  Hayley as we know is supposedly this big tough hybrid.  She talked a big game about taking Vincent out, only to have Vincent quickly neutralize her.  Once again, we had a male cast member coming to Hayley's rescue.  In between, Klaus telling her to stay home and Jackson coming to her rescue, Hayley has pretty much been depowered, in the same way that Rebekah consistently was when she was on The Originals.  Although this show has multiple female characters, only the evil women get to be strong. 

Davina once again made an appearance this episode. This character continues to annoy me and I fail to see her relevance to the show whatsoever.  Davina has her plans constantly thwarted, which I suppose is easy as they seldom make good sense.  Davina openly calls Kol a psychopath, and yet we see her falling for his charms.  A little flirting on his part, easily disarms Davina. Yes she falls into yet another supposedly strong female character always in need of watching and saving but more than that, Davina is vapid.